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Deprivation of liberty: Human rights (DoLS)

Key Learning Points

  • There is no statutory definition of what constitutes Deprivation of liberty in the law and decisions are forced to rely on the comments of judges and case law 
  • DoLS requires six separate assessments to be completed, involving more than one professional 
  • Any deprivation of liberty must be proportionate, meaning that it must not extend further than the point at which the purpose is achieved, and must be in the individual’s best interests 
  • DoLS is set to be replaced with Liberty Protection safeguards in 2022